US says all options on table to deal with Mexico energy policy

 President Joe Biden’s trade chief reiterated US concerns over Mexico’s state-favoring energy policies and said all options will be considered in dealing with the dispute.

“I have made very clear that all options are on the table and that we’ll continue to explore those options,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said during a press conference Friday following meetings with her Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Vancouver. “We have been working this issue including this week and we will continue to do so.”

Bloomberg News reported last month that the Biden administration was preparing to escalate its complaints that Mexico’s energy policies violate the nations’ free-trade agreement, citing people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly. The move that would risk exacerbating tensions between the countries’ governments.

Asked on Friday about a possible escalation, Tai didn’t offer specific details on next steps.

The meeting among the three ministers came days after the two-year anniversary of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, or USMCA, taking effect, and with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set to visit Biden in Washington next week after snubbing his invitation to the regional Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles last month.